Birch Brothers was a bus and coach operator in south east England.

History

William Birch started running horse-drawn cabs in London in 1837. After his death in 1846 his widow, Elizabeth, took over the business and in 1847 extended it to include the running of omnibuses, operating a service between

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

and Mansion House. The company was divided between her two sons on her death in 1874. Four years later the two sons parted company and ran separate businesses, John Manley operating buses and mail vans (having obtained a substantial contract with the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

), and William Samuel operating buses and cabs. In 1885 William Samuel's son, William Henry, joined his father, but thirteen years later started his own omnibus business. In 1887, John Manley inaugurated the London–

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

horse drawn night parcel mail and in 1891 the London–

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

mail which was operated until 1908. In 1889 the two brothers again joined forces and formed the private company of Birch Bros., Limited. By 1907 the company was operating 16 motor omnibuses, but a series of problems led to the company's withdrawal from the venture. As a result of fierce competition by motor buses, horse bus operation ceased in 1912. In 1919 Birch commenced operating coaches on "See Britain" tours and in 1925 re-entered the London omnibus business. This continued until 1933, when the London Passenger Transport Act was passed, resulting in the compulsory acquisition of the company's 30 buses by the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

. Birch launched a service between London,

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

and

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

in 1928, extending to

Rushden Rushden is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, around east of Northampton. The parish is on the border with Bedfordshire, north of Bedford. The parish of Rushden covers an area of some ...

in 1929. The company built a garage and bus station at Rushden in 1937. In 1938 the company purchased a number of existing operators running services in Bedford,

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old English ''henna hlaw'', meaning ...

, Hitchin and

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, with another garage at Henlow Camp built in the same year. In 1952 the company pioneered the operation of the first diesel-engined taxicab, converting all of its vehicles to diesel engines within a year; by 1956, the Company had converted over 1,250 cabs owned by other London operators. On 2 November 1959, the company operated the first regular service journey from London on the new

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

. The new route, numbered 203M, linked the city with Bedford and Rushden. The two remaining coach routes were given up to

United Counties Omnibus United Counties OmnibusCompanies House extract company no 176586

in September 1969. The coach hire business was retained until 1971, when it was sold to George Ewer Ltd., and Birch Brothers closed down.Oxford & Chiltern Bus Page - Issue 280
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Routes

References

External links

by Peter Gould
Green Line: the history of London’s country bus services
by Albert William McCall

by Peter Roberts

by Jacky Lawrence, Rushden & District History Society Research Group

by Nigel Hall

Bibliography and further reading

* British Bus Fleets No. 11: London Coach Operators; Ian Allan, 1962 * Buses Illustrated No. 11 (July 1952) by John Manley Birch * Buses Illustrated No. 12 (October 1952) by John Manley Birch * PSV Circle Fleet History PN3 (1980) {{Defunct British Bus Companies Defunct bus manufacturers of the United Kingdom Former London bus operators Former bus operators in Northamptonshire Former bus operators in Bedfordshire Former bus operators in Hertfordshire